Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is a pleasure to rise to speak on this motion and to support the comments of the members for Gellibrand, Capricornia and Fowler. We owe a great deal to every serviceman who served in the Vietnam War, because ultimately the Vietnam War was about stopping the spread of communism. Later this week we will have the Prime Minister of Singapore visit our parliament, and I think it is worthwhile, when we reflect back on the Vietnam War, to look at the words of Lee Kuan Yew, in his autobiography:

Although American intervention failed in Vietnam, it bought time for the rest of Southeast Asia. In 1965, when the US military moved massively into South Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines faced internal threats from armed communist insurgents and the communist underground was still active in Singapore.

He continued, 'America's action in Vietnam enabled the non-communist South-East Asia to put their own houses in order. By 1975, when the war ended, they were in better shape to stand up to the communists.' Further:

Had there been no US intervention, the will of these countries to resist them would have melted and Southeast Asia would have most likely gone communist. The prosperous emerging market economies of ASEAN … were nurtured during the Vietnam War …

They are the words of Lee Kuan Yew and that is why we should always remember with great pride the service and the sacrifice of the Australians who served in Vietnam and also the South Vietnamese.

At that time, it was very easy for people to believe that the future and the best way for prosperity for the average person was through a Communist regime. We have seen the results after the war, when two million Vietnamese fled their country and an estimated half a million actually perished at sea. We have seen the great prosperity in South-East Asia, of nations like Singapore and the growing prosperity of Thailand. As Lee Kuan Yew says, that would not have happened if it was not for the bravery of our soldiers in support with the Americans of Vietnam.

We also need to look at the situation in Vietnam today. We need to give that nation our support. They are trying to introduce democratic reforms, but there are still significant issues with human rights. Recently in Vietnam we have seen an incident where there was a toxic release from a Taiwanese steel plant that poisoned many millions of fish and caused an estimated $500 million worth of damage. Many Vietnamese in that province took to the streets to protest about that, but police in helmets and with shields were deployed against them.

We hope that Vietnam learns from its surrounding countries. The way to increase their prosperity and the way to uplift their people is to open their country, to open it to free trade, allow greater human rights and freedom in the country and allow the media to be free. Although these may seem short term to the rules of Vietnam and are difficult issues, ultimately, that can only make the country much stronger.

Vietnam Veterans Day on 18 August is a very important day in our calendar, something that all Australians should remember. We should also remember with shame the way that many of our servicemen and troops were treated when they returned. That was a terrible mistake and a stain upon our nation, but we can right that by remembering and saying with great pride— (Time expired)

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